The diamond plates we manufacture are the foundation of our diamond sharpeners and other sharpening tools. That is why we want to know that the diamonds actually stay in place even after heavy use.
Like so many things in this world, they do not appear by themselves. Each plate spends several hours in our plating baths where the diamonds are bonded to the steel and the durable diamond surface is built up.
Regular inspections are a part of everyday life here, but sometimes it is time for a random quality check even when everything looks perfect. We have therefore developed a highly advanced testing method...
In short: it's exhausting!
I am holding a piece of hardened steel in my hand. The goal is simple – push as hard as possible and keep grinding for as long as possible. The plate in question survived ten minutes before I was completely worn out.
There was black grinding dust everywhere and it looked terrible, but it was still cutting.
Here is the result under the microscope after the plate had been rinsed off and allowed to dry:
Result: Every diamond is still in place. They still bite into the steel very effectively, even though they are naturally a little flatter and more rounded than when they were new.
What happened to the rest of the plate? It was laminated with industrial-strength adhesive and cut into 20 × 75 mm pieces before becoming part of an order of Pole Tip Files shipped to Swenor in Norway.
They make exceptionally high-quality ski poles, but our diamond files help keep the tips sharp.
